Book and Article Reviews on Biracial Children's Literature

Arnold Adoff black is brown is tan; illus. by Emily Arnold McCully. 29pp. Harper Collins Publishers, 1973. ISBN 0-06-028777-2

Adoff depicts in this book the everyday life and activities of a family with a black mother and a white father who have two children. The text is in the format of a poem and flows fluidly through the points of view of each parent and the children in turn. Adoff details some of the physical differences and the similarities between the parents, such as the mother describing herself as, ”a brown sugar gown a tasty tan and coffee pumpkin pie” (pp. 11) while the father is, “white the milk is white i am not the color of the milk” but both parents , “puff and yell you into bed”(pp. 16), but constantly ties the family together with the phrase, “this is the way it is for us this is the way we are”. He does not overemphasize the fact that this is a biracial family. He is telling the story of how this family of four works using the fluid movement of poetry with the help of McCully’s detailed illustrations. Adoff celebrates the things that make up each and every family, the daily routines, chores, and family vacations, and while the different family members bring up the fact that they do look different, their skin shades are all varying shades of brown (even the father who is not the same white as milk or snow). They are a united group not in spite of their skin color, but because they love each other. Adoff, although he does not have a biracial heritage (he is the son of Russian immigrants), successfully iterates the point that people do not need to look the same in order to love each other.

Laurence Yep Ribbons. 179pp. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1992. ISBN 0-399-22906-X

The protagonist Robin’s love for ballet is the driving force behind this novel. She has grown up in a family with a Chinese mother and a white father, with her younger brother resembling her mother’s heritage while she resembled her father. This was never a major issue in Robin’s life until her mother decides that it is time for their family to bring her mother (Robin’s grandmother) over from China. This puts the whole family under financial constraints that force them to stop Robin’s ballet lessons, although that does not stop her from practicing her steps on the concrete of their garage. Their grandmother, known as Paw-Paw, is brought from China and immediately shows favoritism toward Robin’s brother Ian because, “He’s a boy, Robin…Back in China, boys are everything” (pp.91-92). This is Robin’s first time truly interacting with a part of her Chinese heritage, and she had a very difficult time adjusting to the new circumstances. Yep spends much of the book developing this theme by having Robin come to terms with the fact that she will not always like all parts of her heritage on either her mother or father’s side. However, she learns to accept the differences and make accommodations, and helps her grandmother do the same after she discovers that Paw-Paw has a secret: her feet had been bound in an ancient Chinese tradition as a young girl, and she was ashamed. When Robin begins to show signs of foot trouble from dancing in pointe shoes that are too small, her grandmother uses the opportunity to try and understand why ballet is so important to Robin, and that having imperfect feet does not have to be a defining facet of one’s personality. They begin to understand each other when they look past their cultural differences and accept and love each other for who they are.
Although this book does a good job of dealing with the issue of a young girl coming to terms with a part of her heritage that she has not grown up intimately involved with, there are a few things that took away from this pro. Readers who have experience within the ballet world will recognize that there are many inaccuracies represented in this novel. For example, Robin begins the novel performing the role of the Morning Butterfly in the Nutcracker. This role does not exist in professional performances. Also, she states towards the end of the book that the pair of toe shoes she had been dancing on were bought, “Over a year,” (pp. 157) ago. Toe shoes are long lasting if a dancer is able to use them for two months (as a beginner), and as a dancer’s skill advances it is not unusual to buy a new pair every 2-4 weeks. There is no way even a beginner on pointe would be able to use the same shoes for over a year dancing as often as Robin does (nearly every day). Although these issues might detract from the story for those knowledgeable about ballet, they do not detract from the personal issues Robin faces and works to solve throughout the novel because ballet is the conduit through which the readers learn about who Robin is as a character. Her character begins by defining herself solely through ballet and her love of dance, but the reader is given the opportunity to watch her grow and develop into a person who incorporates her heritage into her identity as well as her love of ballet.

Sundee T. Frazier Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in it. 196pp. Delacorte Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-385-73439-4

Brendan Buckley is a 10 year old boy with a white mother and a black father. He keeps a secret notebook full of his questions about anything and everything including, “What am I?...Black? Biracial? Am I white, too?” (pp. 41). He has grown up knowing his father’s mother Gladys, but his mother’s father has always been a mystery because nobody will ever talk about him and he never comes to visit. That is until Gladys takes Brendan to the mall where Brendan discovers an exhibit on his newest interest, rocks and minerals. Brendan talks to an older man who is the president of a rock club when Gladys comes up to the table and recognizes the man as Brendan’s grandfather. Brendan then finds his address and starts a relationship with this stranger using their shared interest in rocks as a foundation, even though his mother still refuses to talk about him and would be furious if she found out about Brendan’s visits with him. Brendan discovers toward the end of the novel that the reason his mother cut her father out of her life is that he did not want his white daughter to marry a black man. This causes even further confusion about Brendan’s racial identity and sense of self.
Frazier does a fantastic job of showing how being biracial can affect a young boy each and every day without making it be the primary focus because Brendan struggles with his identity using similar methods as other young people, but he has different issues to deal with and resolve. Brendan spends most of the book trying to understand why his seemingly wonderful grandfather was cut out of his life, and simultaneously tries to discover and become comfortable with his racial identity. He is continuously coming up with new questions for his notebook, that eventually help him to decide for himself what and who he chooses to identify as and with. He has encounters throughout the story that help him take each step including an encounter with bullies who use his race to demean Brendan, having his white grandfather not introduce Brendan as his grandson at a rock club meeting, as well as discovering that his grandfather did not believe that whites and blacks should marry. Frazier makes all of his characters relatable and realistic, regardless of the reader’s race, and creates a plotline that showcases a progression and coming of age and identity that are truly wonderful.

Toyomi Igus Two Mrs. Gibsons; illus. by Daryl Wells. 30pp. Children’s Book Press, 1996. ISBN 0-89239-135-9

Igus has created a wonderful piece of literature through illustrations and reflective, insightful, and fluid text in which a young girl describes her experiences with two different Mrs. Gibsons, one of which is black and the other is Japanese. Igus details their differences in places of birth, skin color, hugs, cooking, and other personality traits, while always emphasizing that she loved both Mrs. Gibsons, and both of them loved her. It is not until the end of the book that it is revealed that the Japanese Mrs. Gibson is the young girl’s mother and the black Mrs. Gibson is the young girl’s grandmother. She grew up with both aspects of her heritage, learning the differences and appreciating each woman for who they were and for the fact that they loved each other. It is wonderful, too, that the differences highlighted do not focus on skin color, but on culture and personality as well (such as the types of food each woman cooks, or the methods of practicing religion), and none of the differences are large enough to overshadow the fact that they are family. What I find to be one of the best aspects of this story is that it is true, and based in events from the author’s childhood. I believe that she sums up the meaning behind the story best in the afterword when she writes, “Whenever I start to think that the many problems people have with one another will never be resolved, I remember my two Mrs. Gibsons, who showed me that love can overcome all differences and transcend all boundaries.”

Traci P Baxley. ""What Are You?" Biracial Children in the Classroom." Childhood Education. 84.4 (2008): 230-3.

This article does a thorough job of dealing with some of the issues that biracial students face in the classroom from day to day. Baxley begins with a definition of biracial, which helps readers know specifically about whom this article may refer to, therefore providing a better defined context for who might find this article full of useful information. She then transitions into the history of biracial children in America and various laws that were in place during the time of slavery, such as those against ‘miscegenation’, as well as laws such as the ‘one drop rule’ as a definition for being black that were in effect until the 1960s. To help make this information applicable in today’s society Baxley then mentions that it was not until the most recent census in 2000 that American citizens were allowed to identify as multiracial. After establishing this foundation of relevant history and definitions Baxley provides the reader with five common stereotypes that biracial children face frequently (e.g. biracial children will always identify with the minority race of their heritage), although she does not delve into specifics of how teachers could help to combat these specific issues.
Baxley continues by bringing her discussion more toward a classroom setting. She discusses how few children’s books address biracialism, and why that makes teachers bringing the issue into the classroom even more important for all students, not just the biracial ones. She states that one of the first steps a teacher should take is, “…investigating their personal stance regarding biracial children” before talking about the issue with a room full of young children. It is also important to talk to biracial children’s parents about this topic so that the teacher knows more about what the child identifies him/herself as, as well as the family’s viewpoint. Finally, Baxley believes that teachers must abandon the idea that they should be colorblind to the races in his/her classroom and treat all students the same. Each student has a different background, culture, heritage, as well as race and these issues all help define how best to help that student learn as much as possible. Integrating everything that you learn as a teacher into the classroom can be an invaluable resource for the students as well, to help them learn about themselves and each other.